How to Store Fresh Bread
This is a topic that’s been written about many times. You can find articles and helpful information all over the place.
Still, here are some options of how to protect your bread throughout the week:
(* = my favorite ways to keep bread!)
*BREAD BOX
A bread box can be a very useful tool in your kitchen. I have a wooden one that I often use. I just place my brown paper bag of bread into it and the bread generally keeps for a week. I’ve found that my bread box can hold a few loaves at one time, and I think that’s perfect. Of course, a bread box will take up some extra counter space, so you’d need to take that into consideration when deciding whether or not a bread box is for you.
ZIPLOC BAG
A Ziploc bag certainly is handy and easy. It will keep your bread soft, but can also increase the likelihood for mold after 4-5 days. Plastic bags do not allow the bread to breathe at all, and can also mess with the texture.
*PAPER BAG
The first year I was baking, I put all bread into plastic bags. From the second year on, I’ve put all bread into brown paper bags. A brown bag will work for a couple of days, and anything past that will simply result in a harder crust. Sometimes I will simply put a plastic grocery bag loosely around the brown paper bag to keep the bread sandwich-ready.
NO BAG
If you don’t mind a crustier loaf, you can always just keep your bread on the cutting board, cut-side down to protect the inside of the loaf. This will result in an increasingly stale loaf, but it will still make great toast for a couple of days. This really is a great option if you plan on eating the whole loaf within a couple of days, or if you plan on making croutons or bread crumbs (or bread pudding!) once the bread is too hard to eat.
*Beeswax Wrap
One of my favorite ways to keep bread is in a beeswax wrap. A beeswax wrap refers to a sheet of beeswax fused to fabric. It works largely like saran wrap except it is not air-tight. I used to sell these at the High Point Farmer’s Market, but I no longer do. You can find these online and many other places where kitchen accessories are sold.
I hope this little explanatory article has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment or email me at sourdbread@gmail.com
